Hydrocaoutchouc yarn



Patented Dec. 24, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE r'j' HYDROCAOUTCHOUOYARN No Drawing.

Application September 15, 1934,

Serial No. 744,199

Claims.

My present lnventionlias to do with a new and novel method ofmanufacturing artificial filaments, threads, films, and the like, fromcellulosic solutions.

More particularly, my present process contemplates the production ofviscose and cuprammonium yarns, and the like, possessing a subduedlustre and greater elasticity.

One object of the present invention is to provide a dull lustre yarn, asoutlined above, which can easily be manufactured through the use of theordinary solutions and apparatus customarily employed in the viscose andcupraminonium industry.

Other objects will in part be pointed out, and in part be apparent froma perusalof the following specification and claims.

The manufacture of artificial filaments and the like from viscose andcuprammonium solutions is Well known. In the former, cellulose istreated with alkali to form so-called alkali-cellulose, and thisproduct, after shredding, is acted upon by carbon bisulphide to form acomplex sulphur-cellulose compound, cellulose xanthate, soluble in waterand sodium hydroxide. This so-called viscose solution is then spun orextruded into a coagulating medium and the cellulose regenerated toproduce the yarn, etc., desired. In the second process, use is made ofthe fact that Schweitzers reagent (cupric hydroxide-ammonia) willdissolve cellulose. Cellulose is thus dissolved and extruded, usuallyinto a moving stream of water which acts'to dilute the solvent to suchan extent that copper and ammonia are removed, and the cellulose productremains. The present invention is concerned with the production ofproducts from either one or these two basic compositions.

According to my invention, I use hydro-cyclocaoutchouc, or hydrogenatedcaoutchouc, as an addition to these spinning solutions. This compound iseasily made by carrying out the hydrogenation at a temperature above 200C., and raised hydrogen pressure. The action may be accelerated inseveral ways, for example, by using powdered copper, acetic acid, or thelike.

When caoutchouc itself is heated a change ocours and part of the doublelinkage disappears. It is not fully saturated, since it contains four tofive isoprene residues with one double linkage.

By hydrogenation in the manner set forth in (Cl. 10S40) U. S. Patent1,654,844, a compound may be obtained which has properties totallydifferent from those of the ordinary hydrocaoutchouc obtained, forexample, by Staudinger and Fritschi, (Helv. v. 785).

My present invention, when I mention hydrocaoutchouc, embraces only thatproduct which is a solid, white, amorphous mass, soluble in benzene,chloroform or ether, but insoluble in acetone or alcohol. It is notreactive with the chemicals 10 employed in the manufacture of viscoseand cuprammonium yarns. Its index of refraction is approximately but Ido not wish to be strictly limited to a compound having this exact indexof refraction.

EmampZe.The powdered hydrocaoutchouc, in such finely divided form as toapproach collodial size, is worked up with a small portion of theviscose or cuprammonium solution, and this portion thoroughly agitatedwith the main body of the mass. After filtration, etc., the solution maybe spun. The amount of delustrant and elasticitygiving compound addedshould preferably vary between 1. and 10% of the cellulose content ofthe solution.

Because the hydrocaoutohouc may be added with the cellulose prior to thestep of alkalization, or mixed with the cellulose prior to its solutionin the copper oxide-ammonia solvent, I do not wish to be limited to theexact procedure of incorporating this substance in the spinning orextrusion solutions, but wish to cover broadly the 35 addition of thiscompound to the spinning solutions at any stage in their preparation.

Having now set forth my invention as required by the patent statutes,what I desire to claim is:

1. A spinning solution for the manufacture of 40 soft-lustre productscomprising a solution of the group consisting of viscose andcuprammonium cellulose and a hydrocaoutchouc.

2. A spinning solution for the manufacture of soft-lustre productscomprising a solution of the 45 group consisting of viscose andcuprammonium cellulose and about 1 to 10 per cent of a hydrocaoutchouc,said percentage being calculated on the cellulose content of saidsolution.

3. A spinning solution for the manul'ature of 50 soft-lustre productscomprising a solution of the group consisting 01' viscose andcuprammonium cellulose and a hydrocaoutchouc, said caoutchouc being asolid, white amorphous mass, soluble in benzene, chloroform and ether,insoluble in acetone and alcohol and having an index of refraction ofabout 4. A spinning solution for the manufacture of soft-lustre productscomprising a solution of the group consistingof viscose and cuprammoniumcellulose and about 1 to 10 per cent of a hydrocaoutchouc, saidcaoutchouc being a solid, white, amorphous mass, soluble in benzene,chloroform and ether, insoluble in acetone and alcohol and having anindex of refraction of about ngflji,

said percentage being calculated on the cellulose content of saidsolution.

5. A soft-lustre, cellulosic product of the group 10 consisting ofviscose and cuprammonium cellulose having uniformly dispersed therein asmall amount of a hydrocaoutchouc.

THOMAS H. BYRON.

